People still dying in the Mediterranean Sea as they flee war and misery, Member States opposing the Council compromise to accept even a (ridiculously) small number of refugees, rising inequality, a possible BREXIT and GREXIT and the EU Member State Hungary planning to reintroduce the death penalty… A long list of challenges faces the European institutions and those who want to improve the living and working conditions of the people, as stipulated in the Treaties (Art. 9 TFEU). And what has been the major event of the week? The announcement of plans to reduce the administrative burden for SMEs through the REFIT programme, an agenda which comprises: a new Regulatory Scrutiny Board of seven members with triple AAA status (access to all areas), a new Inter-institutional agreement on better law-making, a new stakeholder mechanism, called the ‘REFIT platform’ and ongoing consultations with stakeholders during the legislative cycle.

Who wouldn’t support a lessening of the administrative burden? But is this the issue standing in the way of the EU finding answers, developing solutions to its urgent problems, returning to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth?

We do not need less social protection and less regulation of financial markets as the neo-liberals claim, we need more protection, better regulation. Europe has historically been built on a compromise between economic and business interests on one hand and the social acquis on the other. Investing in social protection is more than a cost factor, it is an investment that pays off. Otherwise the ILO’s work on Social Protection would not attract so much interest worldwide and would not be on the agenda of the International Labour Conference in June in Geneva.

Administration is necessary to balance conflicts of interests and can certainly be improved, there’s no doubt. Nevertheless the problem today is not so much the administrative burden on SMEs, but rather the lack of lending for investment in SME projects, because the financial sector is still not regulated in a way that ensures a separation between the investment sector serving the real economy and the speculative sector – which was at the origin of the crisis. And when it comes to administration and respect for the rules, it is even stronger in the US than in Europe, but there the banking sector allows more risk taking, with bankruptcy laws that facilitate a more rapid restart after a failure. The need remains to ensure the rule of law and to contain capitalism, especially in times when irregular work and the informal economy are on the increase through virtual employment platforms. Workers and citizens can send this message to the Commission! This is the meaning of social dialogue and civil dialogue at EU-level enshrined in the Treaties. And the best way to rebuild the trust of its citizens in the capacity of the institutions and to counter Eurosceptics!

Fit for purpose? Just see the social impact and the social consequences of the current political choices. It’s a long story.

SOLIDAR Silver Rose Awards

Join us on Wednesday 3 June in the European Parliament and meet the winners

We have announced the organisations and individuals who have been selected as winners of the Silver Rose Awards 2015 in the four categories; Together for Social Europe, Building Learning Societies, Organising International Solidarity and the Lifetime Achievement Award’. Below you can find a brief explanation of why they have been selected and in what way their efforts have contributed to advancing social justice in Europe and worldwide. You can register for the Silver Rose Awards ceremony here.

The winners are:

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Günter Wallraff
• Together for Social European Award, Aide et Défense des Jeunes Isolés Etrangers (ADJIE)
• Building Learning Societies Award, Sosyal Yasama ve Egitme Katki Dernegi (Association for Contribution to Education and Social Life – SOYAD)
• Organising International Solidarity Award, The International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF)

You can find the programme of the Silver Rose Ceremony here

The Silver Rose Awards is organised with the support of the S&D Group and the Party for European Socialists and with the media support of EurActiv

Together for Social Europe

Setting the table for Better Regulation?

19 May 2015

On 19th May Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights presented the long awaited Better Regulation Package in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Using the analogy of refurbishing a kitchen, Commissioner Timmermans said it is not important for those who eat a meal how the kitchen is furnished but rather what the food tastes like in the end. Sticking to this metaphor, SOLIDAR wants not only that the food tastes good but also that each and every person can afford a meal and has a place at the table.

For SOLIDAR Better Regulation does not mean deregulation, but improving legislation with regard to the European treaties, our basic, common values and Fundamental Rights and therefore should be beneficial for everyone.

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CALL FOR ACADEMIC PAPERS: JOBS, GROWTH AND SOCIAL INVESTMENT

SOLIDAR is launching a call for academic papers to help formulate and develop alternatives to the structural reforms that are currently being pursued by the European institutions as part of the so-called ‘virtuous triangle’ (i.e. investment, fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms) within the framework of the SOLIDAR Social Progress Watch Initiative.
More information can be found here.

Building Learning Societies

Council looks at the mid-term review of the Education and Training 2020 Framework

20 May 2015

On 18 and 19 May the Education, Youth, Audiovisual, Culture and Sport Council discussed the achievements and future developments of European cooperation in education and training (“ET 2020”) that provides common strategic objectives for the Member States to further develop their education and training systems. The ministerial debate took place as part of the preparations for the 2015 Joint Report that has been developed on the basis of the previous years’ mid-term review that engaged stakeholders in the evaluating the state of play of the current framework, and identifying upcoming challenges.
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Education in values is the key to building inclusive societies

21 May 2015

This week EU education ministers met in Brussels for the Education, Youth, Audiovisual, Culture and Sport Council and expressed their views on the follow-up to the informal meeting that gathered Education Ministers, State Secretaries and representatives from all 28 EU Member States. In March 2015 in Paris, at the invitation of the French Minister for Education and the Latvian Presidency, they addressed the role of education in preventing radicalisation and promoting common European values. The Paris meeting was organised in the aftermath of the terrorist events in France and Denmark earlier this year and concluded with a joint declaration on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education. The adopted declaration calls for the education sector to play its part in preventing radicalisation by promoting citizenship and fostering social inclusion, and common European values such as tolerance and mutual respect.
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Organising International Solidarity

SOLIDAR, HelpAge International, the International Council on Social Welfare and the Free Trade Union Development Centre send an open letter to reinforce ESCRs in the EU action plan on Human Rights

21 May

The European Union has recently adopted its “EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy” for the period 2015-2019.

In its presentation last week, the European External Action Service (EEAS) invited ‘stakeholders’ to propose initiatives to strengthen the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights dimension of this action plan.

In response, SOLIDAR has drafted an open letter suggesting that the following actions are undertaken:

• Further promote the ratification of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol by ensuring incentives in all EU external relations to promote the signing and ratification of this optional protocol.
• Support the implementation of ILO Recommendation No. 202 on National Floors of Social Protection by adopting a roadmap to integrate the implementation of the four social security guarantees in EU external policies and programming documents (Action Plans, National Indicative Programmes.
• Step up the resources to support the establishment of the Global Fund for Social Protection (GFSP) to further assist countries that need financial support to introduce or complete national social protection floors in order to ensure the full realisation of the human right to social security.
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SOLIDAR’s key recommendations for a revised ENP ahead of the next Civil Society Forum in Brussels

21 May 2015

Next week 28-29 May 2015, SOLIDAR will participate in the Second Civil Society Forum (CSF)- Southern Neighbourhood, organised by the External Action Service and DG NEAR. The CSF will focus on the revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) by addressing some key crucial issues such as inequalities in the Mediterranean region, the ongoing shrinking space for CSOs and the issues of mobility in the Mediterranean.

In light of this coming event, SOLIDAR calls on the External Action Service and the European Commission to consider the amendments to the AFET Draft Report by Eduard Kukan (MEP, EPP) on the ENP revision, that were proposed together with the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) and the Euromed Non-Governmental Platform (EUROMED).
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SOLIDAR at the EESC discussing on post-2015 objectives in Euro-Mediterranean region

22 May 2015

Today SOLIDAR attended a study group hearing at the European Economic and Social Committee on “Post-2015 objectives in the Euro-Mediterranean region”, to provide feedback to the preliminary draft opinion of the section for external releations prepared by the Rapporteur Ms Le Nouail Marlière.

During the hearing, SOLIDAR highlighted the need to advocate for universal social protection systems as per ILO Recommendation 202 in the post-2015 and the Financing for Development (FfD) upcoming conference in Addis Abeba in July 2015, by stressing the necessity to adopt a Social Protection Index Social Protection index that can measure to what extent countries have completed a social protection floor for all residents.
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